'Born in Malaysia, Living In Singapore, Of Indian heritage — I embody cultural fluidity,' Says Artist Kumari Nahappan, Before Her First-Ever Solo Showing In India
At 72, the artist of international renown is still restless, still curious, and still building work that is both cosmic and playful.
Published : September 4, 2025 at 1:41 PM IST
Every so often, an artist arrives whose work seems to demand a whole new vocabulary, and in Kumari Nahappan’s case, that vocabulary starts with spices. Not the cardamom pods you find at the bottom of your tea, or the turmeric powder that stains everything in sight but spices as metaphor, as memory, as history. Born in Klang, Malaysia, to Indian grandparents who migrated there in the early 20th century, Nahappan has built a three-decade career transforming the small and the everyday (seeds, shells, spices) into monumental public works that now dot Singapore’s cityscape.
If you’ve ever walked through Changi Airport and been stopped in your tracks by the towering Saga Seed, or craned your neck beneath the 45-metre Pembungaan bronze mural, you’ve probably encountered Kumari’s art without even knowing it. Her practice, which has taken her everywhere from the Venice Biennale’s collateral to museums in Tokyo, Seoul, Basel, and Amsterdam, is instantly recognisable: vibrant, cosmic, and rooted in both cultural memory and the cycles of nature.
Now, for the first time, India gets to see her work up close. Chromatic Currents opening at New Delhi’s Gallery Pristine Contemporary this September, brings Kumari home in a sense; back to the ancestral routes of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, and back to the spice trails that once carried nutmeg, mace, and pepper between South Asia and Southeast Asia. Curated by John Tung, the exhibition is less about nostalgia and more about connection: between geographies, between past and present, between ritual and modernity.
Inside, there are works that feel like small revelations. A room of black-and-white paintings honours Chandra (Moon) and Shani (Saturn), contrasting yet united. Cosmic Conches spiral with playful energy, while Monument, first imagined in 1996 and now rebuilt with turmeric and mirrors, offers something like a sanctuary in the middle of Delhi. At the very entrance, two works (Dance of Surya and Auld Lang Syne, created decades apart) stand like bookends, inviting us to reflect on memory, time, and renewal.
Kumari Nahappan is 72 now, though it feels almost irrelevant to mention age when the work itself is so relentlessly youthful, curious, and full of colour. With Chromatic Currents, she arrives in India not just as one of Southeast Asia’s most celebrated artists, but as someone who insists on collapsing the distances between countries, generations, and even planets. Seeds become galaxies, spices become histories, and exhibitions become journeys.
This is where our conversation with Nahappan begins.
1. Chromatic Currents is your first-ever solo exhibition in India, though your work has often drawn on Indian cultural memory. How does it feel to finally present a full body of work here?
At 72, this feels like a homecoming. It's more than showing work, it's reconnecting with my cultural roots and sharing decades of artistic exploration with the diaspora. These pieces have travelled the world, and now they return to the soil that nurtured the cultural memories they embody.
2. The show traces the spice routes and their influence on art, culture, and identity. What drew you to this theme?
The spice routes mirror my own artistic journey, pathways of cultural exchange where traditions flow across borders, adapting and enriching each place they touch. Growing up surrounded by these aromas and colours, I witnessed how culture moves fluidly, creating new expressions while honouring origins.
3. Your monumental Saga Seed installation at Changi Airport is iconic. What is it about the seed as a form that makes it central to your artistic language?
Seeds embody infinite potential, nature's perfect metaphor for transformation and continuity. They carry memory while holding promise, representing the cyclical nature of existence central to my heritage. The seed form bridges the tangible and mystical, rooted in earth yet reaching toward transcendence.
4. Your art often navigates between Malaysia, Singapore, and India, reflecting the fluid movement of culture across borders. How do you personally experience this interconnectedness?
I live this interconnectedness daily. Born in Malaysia, living in Singapore, of Indian heritage - I embody cultural fluidity. Growing up in a space where multiple traditions coexisted taught me that identity is not fixed but a meeting point where cultures dance together. My art emerges from these intersections, celebrating transformation and exchange.
5. Your public installations have become part of Singapore's cultural landscape. How does working at such a monumental scale change your relationship to space and audience?
Monumental scale transforms art from object to environment, from viewing to experiencing. I create “doorways to experience” where the abstract becomes tangible. In public spaces, viewers become participants, each bringing their own story to the collective experience.
6. Public art often requires negotiating with civic authorities, architects, and urban planners. How do you retain your artistic vision while working within these constraints?
I see this as co-creation rather than negotiation. Constraints become creative catalysts when I listen intently to the environment and all stakeholders. My vision doesn't diminish, it evolves and strengthens through collaboration. The environment itself becomes my collaborator, expanding possibilities I hadn't imagined.
7. What role do you think public art should play in contemporary cities like Singapore, and now, India?
Public art serves as a bridge between the everyday and transcendent, creating moments of connection in fast-paced urban environments. It becomes a universal language speaking across cultural boundaries while celebrating local traditions. People need spaces to slow down and truly see, where visuals can be absorbed contemplatively.
8. What does your creative process look like. Do you begin with a form, a story, or a material?
As an artist you don't plan your journey. The trail is intuitive. It leads you from one to another. My process begins with essential questions: How many senses do I want to engage? What story am I telling? Sometimes it starts with the scarlet thread running through my work, sometimes with materials like saga seeds, or memories of hibiscus flowers for our family altar.
9. You've exhibited globally (from the Mori Art Museum to the Venice Biennale collateral) yet you're returning to a more personal cultural context with India. Does this show feel like a homecoming?
Absolutely, a homecoming enriched by all the journeys before. Each international venue taught me how universal themes emerge from deeply personal cultural roots. Now I see my work through both local and global lenses simultaneously. These scarlet threads, born from childhood memories, have spoken worldwide and now return to speak in their native tongue.
10. You've received honours like the Ksatria Seni Award and Artist of the Year at the Shanghai Art Fair. How do such recognitions impact your artistic journey?
Recognition is both humbling and motivating, affirmation that the work resonates beyond my personal vision. Each award becomes a milestone, never an endpoint, carrying a responsibility to keep growing and challenging myself. It fuels continuous evolution, where every honour becomes a stepping stone toward deeper exploration.
11. Younger artists across Asia are increasingly engaging with identity, migration, and memory. What advice would you give them as someone who has worked with these themes for decades?
Ground yourself in your lived experiences and heritage while remaining open to global conversations. Don't be afraid to be intimately personal, this makes work universally resonant. Stay rooted in nature and cultural memory, but don't be confined by traditional boundaries. Your unique voice emerges from the intersection of your heritage and your contemporary moment.
Chromatic Currents by artist Kumari Nahappan (curated by John Tung) is on view at Gallery Pristine Contemporary, A-178, C3 Ground Floor, Saini Bhavan, Bhishma Pitamah Marg, New Delhi, from Friday, 12th September to Thursday, 30th October 2025.
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